Tethered (Novella) - By Meljean Brook Page 0,72
hunger never ceases.”
Oh, God. She shouldn’t have asked. “Killing them all is a good plan, though.”
Where was Khavi with her plan?
“With one vulnerability.” Michael’s head lifted, and he looked down at her with unreadable obsidian eyes. A sharp talon skimmed down her cheek. “Give the body to me.”
She’d feared he might say that she was his weak spot. But giving his body back, no problem. That was why she was here—to dump it from her hammerspace and be free of him.
Yet she hesitated. This wasn’t the Michael she knew. “What will you do with it?”
“Consume it.”
She forced herself not to shudder when his claw traced the shape of her mouth. “You couldn’t return to Earth if you did.”
“But I could destroy all of Hell.”
Like a dragon would. Consuming, destroying. Khavi had said the torture of the frozen field had stripped away Michael’s humanity. Was this all that remained? Was this what lay at his core?
She prayed that wasn’t true. “And if Lucifer reaches Chaos first?”
“I don’t care.”
That dark, hollow voice. Taylor closed her eyes, shook her head. This was not Michael. Not Michael at all. He’d sacrificed his life to stop Lucifer from doing that very thing because he cared.
His talons curled under her chin, pricking the soft skin. “You want to be rid of me, Andromeda.”
Yes. She couldn’t lie about that. But she didn’t want Michael dead or trapped in this realm for eternity. That was why she’d put up with him in her head, why she’d carried his body around all this time. Not many Guardians were left. There weren’t enough of them to fight if Lucifer escaped from Hell. Every single Guardian mattered, and Michael was the strongest of them.
They needed him back. So why wasn’t Khavi here to finish this? Michael had come.
“Because it’s in my nature,” he said.
That terrifying smile stretched his lips again. His hand fell to the front of her shirt. Shocked, Taylor grabbed his wrist, tried to pull it away.
“Don’t you dare—”
Cotton shredded like tissue. A claw sliced through her bra. Oh, fuck that. Furious, she lashed out with her foot. Her kick should have shattered bones. Her punch could have fractured rock. He shrugged them off, catching her wrists, pinning them over her head with one hand.
Gritting her teeth, she waited…but this wasn’t what she’d thought, either. Though he stared at her naked chest, that thick club between his legs wasn’t hard.
He must have felt her relief. “That is not in my nature.”
Sex, or forcing it? “Because you’re half demon?”
Those creatures could perform the physical act of sex, but they couldn’t feel arousal. She’d never questioned whether Michael could. Maybe she should have.
“No. I have experienced those needs. But there is nothing I have not done many times over in many different forms. The appeal was lost thousands of years ago. Your body does not tempt me to try again.”
Oh. Well, that was…really fucking cruel. The bastard. He’d been in her head. He had to know how many times she’d imagined him being tempted and trying—and how quickly she’d always repressed those thoughts, feeling slightly blasphemous and guilty. But she couldn’t help having them. He had a face like sculpted granite and his body was her personal sexual fantasy come to life. Of course she’d imagined him in bed.
But this was for the best. He’d only been a fantasy; she’d never wanted sex with him to become a reality. And now that she’d seen this hunger and cruelty at his core, he’d never interest her again.
Still, his words made her chest ache. But she wouldn’t show it. She wouldn’t show it.
It didn’t matter. He knew it. Strong fingers caught her chin, forced her gaze to his. “You feel pain over such words? You misunderstand. Your body does not interest me, Andromeda. But you do. When I am invulnerable, I will claim you as my own and fill you with my seed.”
Taylor sputtered on a hysterical laugh. He couldn’t have just left it at her unappealing body? Because this didn’t make her feel better. “Keep dreaming, asshole. Even on the zero chance of that happening, your seed isn’t filling anything. I’m a Guardian, so that means no kids. Ring a bell?”
“I do not want children. I want to possess you in every way, to make you mine.” His hand tightened around her wrists when she struggled. “I will keep you close and protect you.”
“No thanks. Really. I’ll take care of myself.”
“As you are now?”
Fucker. Her jaw clenched as she stared back at